Collapsible cages, which can be used in the most disparate fields of application, such as the containment of animals, plants or the like, are constituted generally by a bottom that is surmounted by, and associated with, grid-like walls that are mutually connected by connecting means.
Said connecting means are generally of the reversible type and are constituted by coupling elements having various shapes and configurations, which ensure the connection between two converging walls.
As an alternative, there are connecting means constituted by axial couplings of elements of the grids in tubular connecting elements to be arranged at the corners.
However, these connecting means do not provide the characteristics of flexibility in application that are required by users, also in relation to the solidity and safety of the connection of the various elements.
In order to obviate these shortcomings in the field of collapsible cages, solutions have been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,964B2 of the same Assignee.
Such patent discloses a collapsible cage provided with a bottom that is surmounted by, and associated with, grid-like walls that are mutually connected by applied connecting means.
The connecting means comprise a first corner joint, which is constituted by a first component provided with an angular concave body in which there are first seats for the positioning of three converging grid-like walls.
Said first component is associated, by way of reversible interlocking anchoring means, with a complementary second component, which is separate from the first component.
The purpose of said second component is to lock the three converging grid-like walls in their positioning seats.
Said second component is separate from the first component and is applied once the two converging side walls have been arranged vertically.
This solution adopted by the applicant, while being highly appreciated commercially, has aspects that can be improved and are linked in particular to reducing the manufacturing costs of the corner joint.
One problem that collapsible cages have always had is related to storage and handling of disassembled cages.
The packages that enclose the components of the cage, i.e., the bottom, the grid-like walls, the couplings, etc, are in fact particularly bulky and noisy.
The noise is caused by the vibrations that handling transmits from the box to the internal metallic components.